A Walk to Remember
by Lady Chitose
Summary: It was just a walk home. That was how it started. And then a close friend came along. :: Ichigo x Retasu::


This is my first Tokyo Mew Mew fanfiction, yay. However, it is shoujo-ai (meaning implied girl/girl romance), so if you're not into that kind of thing you'll want to hit back on your browser and find another story. The pairing is Ichigo/Retasu, a pairing I haven't seen fanfiction written about before. I personally think it's interesting because both are the most common love interests for Ryou. Well, before I get into a rant, I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew or its characters.

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**A Walk to Remember**

Her breathe evaporated into the ice cold air as she rubbed her hands against her arms in hope of being the least bit warm. Retasu hadn't anticipated that today's weather would be so harsh. If she did, naturally she would have brought along a coat. But she took the risk of leaving her coat home for just that day and ended up regretting it. Now she had to walk home from Café Mew Mew in the windy weather, her arms and legs nearly feeling numb. Home seemed a lot farther away than usual. She sighed and wearily tried to pick up her pace.

Retasu hadn't had the best day, to put it lightly. Some customers seemed to be especially crabby today, but perhaps the terrible weather was to blame. Minto was supposedly home with the flu, but given the ratio of the time she spends drinking tea to actually working, her absence made very little of a difference. Zakuro had to leave early for a photo shoot, leaving her with only two other girls to work with. The youngest one, Purin, even seemed to be down by such weather. Her normally lively gold eyes appeared duller as if all she wanted was to sleep. Ichigo seemed unaffected and went about her work routine as usual. Retasu was at least glad someone was still the same. She admired Ichigo for that.

The wind's velocity began to pick up. Retasu's lengthy verdant locks blew wildly in her face. She desperately tried to shove her hair out of her face, accidentally knocking off her glasses in the process. What a way to continue such a dismal day.

Feeling nearly blind, she kneeled down and anxiously relied on her sense of touch to find her missing glasses. All she felt for a while was frigid, rough gravel until she came across what felt like her glasses lens. But there was also something else she felt - something warm. Could it be someone's hand? But Retasu was sure no one was near by when she was walking. In case of the figure being a stranger, Retasu quickly put her glasses back on and prepared to scurry away. That is, until she saw Ichigo's cheery face. Her pink eyes shone with kindness as she pulled Retasu up, causing both girls to lightly blush. Both hoped the other wouldn't notice.

"Thank you Ichigo-san," Retasu squeaked. She tucked her hair behind her ear. "Um, what are you doing here?"

Ichigo broke into one of her trademark grins and chirped, "I was just on my way home - that Ryou made me stay over time to clean up something - and then I saw you kneeling down like you were looking for something. So I decided to run over here and help you." Ichigo's dark pink hair brushed against her face, but her brilliant eyes were still visible. As if Ichigo's smile was contagious, Retasu managed a grin.

"Th-thank y-y-you," Retasu replied, her teeth shattering as she curled her pale arms against her chest. Ichigo noticed her friend's suffering and part way removed her coat. She stepped as close to Retasu as she could get and offered her the sleeve. "I don't have two coats, but we can keep each other warm," Ichigo said with a playful wink. Retasu gratefully accepted and stuck one of her arms into the sleeve while putting her other behind Ichigo's back just as Ichigo had done with her arms. It was cramped, but she certainly preferred this to nearly freezing to death.

"Where's your house again?" Ichigo asked politely, her warmish breathe coming in contact with Retasu's face. In response, Retasu unhid one of her arms briefly and pointed while giving directions. Ichigo happily nodded. Retasu was sure good with directions, Ichigo noticed. She didn't have the memory for such detail but managed to find her way around somehow.

Once again the wind blew harder. Both girls drew the coat closer to themselves and eventually linked hands as they endured the wind. As the duo turned around a corner it seemed to die down shortly. Ichigo and Retasu exchanged a glance, catching sight of each other's messy hair. Both broke out into a fit of giggling and tried to smooth the other's hair out gently. Retasu's viridian tresses felt silky against Ichigo's rough fingers. It was almost soothing in a way. Ichigo's hair felt the same to Retasu's frozen fingertips. Eventually both noticed that the other had her hand in her hair and sheepishly removed their hands back inside the coat in unison. Retasu pointed out her home and Ichigo escorted her all the way up to the step right in front of the door.

"Thank you so much for everything Ichigo-san," Retasu said as she slipped out of the coat, bowing to show her immense gratitude. She sure was glad to have a friend like her.

And of course, Ichigo smiled and said, "No problem. I couldn't let a good friend of mine freeze." She once again winked charmingly, causing Retasu's cheeks to heat up slightly. Ichigo briefly embraced Retasu in a tight yet affectionate hug and left, waving until she was out of sight.

Despite the nipping air, Retasu took a moment standing before her door. She hadn't received a hug like that before, considering the few friends she'd had in the past were rather shy like herself. It felt good. Very good. Friendship sure was a great thing, especially with people like Ichigo. Maybe leaving her coat at home that day wasn't such a bad move after all.

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That's the end. I do appreciate reviews. Even if you don't like the couple, that's fine, as long as you try to judge the story itself and not the couple it's based on. Thanks for reading! 


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